ASA 129th Meeting - Washington, DC - 1995 May 30 .. Jun 06

2pUW9. Three-dimensional acoustic propagation in a waveguide of variable
thickness.

Robert A. Coury

William L. Siegmann

Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY 12180-3590

Michael D. Collins

Naval Res. Lab., Washington, DC 20375

The parabolic equation (PE) method has proven to be an efficient method
for solving range-dependent ocean acoustics problems. Recently an extension has
been made to handle two-dimensional waveguides of varying thickness. This type
of modeling is necessary when the upper boundary of the waveguide is allowed to
change, as for example in propagation up a beach or in an ocean with a
gradually undulating surface. The adiabatic mode PE is another extension that
has been developed to solve global scale, three-dimensional propagation
problems. In this paper, the three-dimensional adiabatic mode PE is extended to
handle problems involving a gradual range dependence in the overall thickness
of the waveguide. The modified adiabatic PE has several applications. On
relatively small scales, it may be applied to solve three-dimensional beach
acoustics problems or to model diffraction by an island. It may also be applied
to solve global-scale seismoacoustic problems in which topography on the
continents plays a significant role. [Work supported by ONR.]